TheDailySportsHerald.Com Boxing Awards for 2009 - Part II

Here is Part II of our Boxing Awards for 2009:

MOST UNFAIRLY DUCKED FIGHTER AFTER 2009

A) Shane Mosley
B) Paul Williams
C) Sergio Martinez
D) Edwin Valero
E) Ali Funeka

Winner? Shane Mosley.

All of these fighters are avoided, but "Sugar" Shane Mosley deserves this award the most. The reason? Why is Mosley consistently ignored as big fights are made with Pacquiao, Mayweather, Cotto, Clottey, and even lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, when Mosley is the lineal Welterweight champion of the world?

Truthfully, while Pacquiao's victory over Cotto is impressive, it is kind of silly that he received a belt for it, considering that Cotto had already lost to Margarito just the year before. The only significant belt in the Welterweight division is the one owned by Shane Mosley. It is laughable that he couldn't get a fight of significance in 2009 after his victory over Margarito. Clearly fighters like Pacquiao and Mayweather do not want to face Mosley, especially now that he is under trainer Nazim Richardson.

While they hope he gets old, he will take another tough fight on January 30th against fellow belt-holder Andre Berto, a young talent looking to make a name for himself. It is a dangerous, "no-win" fight for an established legend like Mosley, but its the only fight he can make in the politics of today's boxing world.

MOST DISAPPOINTING FIGHT OF THE YEAR
Nominees:

A) Floyd Mayweather Jr. v. Juan Manuel Marquez
B) Chad Dawson v. Glen Johnson II
C) Juan Diaz v. Paulie Malinaggi II
D) Vitaly Klitschko v. Chris Arreola

Winner? Mayweather v. Marquez.

Dawson's casual decision over Johnson was certainly a let down from their first fight; Diaz's re-match with Malinaggi was a snooze-fest as Diaz looked extremely slow and tentative as Malinaggi garnered the easy decision; and Klitschko's one-sided dismantling of a game Chris Arreola revealed just how far the American fighter has to go before becoming a serious threat.

But the mega-matchup between pound-for-pound stars Juan Manuel Marquez and Floyd Mayweather Jr. was the most disappointing fight of 2009 for a number of reasons. First, the size and weight difference seemed immediately apparent from the get-go, as Mayweather, who came in over the agreed-upon weight limit and refused to be weighed again on fight night, likely weighed about 15 pounds more than Marquez in the ring. It definitely showed and made the fight feel somewhat like a farce.

Second, Marquez's efforts to bulk-up had clearly slowed him down further and he did not appear comfortable at the weight at all for most of the fight. Facing the already faster Mayweather, this left Marquez deficient in nearly every important area: size, power, reach, speed, and defensive skills.

Third, despite these significant advantages, Mayweather often relied on Marquez to push the action in the fight, something Marquez is not entirely comfortable doing. The matchup of counterpunching styles made it possible for Mayweather to cruise to an easy decision without fear of the pressure he might face from an offense-first fighter.

Finally, Mayweather unbelievably never came very close to knocking the smaller Marquez out. With the exception of one flash knockdown in the 2nd round, Mayweather's most cleanly landed shots did not seem to stagger or hurt Marguez significantly. Sure, Marquez has a great chin, but he has been hurt and knocked down by fighters before. Yet Mayweather was either incapable or unwilling to close the show. Would Pacquiao have done the same?

BEST FIGHT OF THE YEAR
Nominees:

A) Paul Williams v. Sergio Martinez
B) Andre Berto v. Luis Collazo
C) Manny Pacquiao v. Miguel Cotto
D) Miguel Cotto v. Joshua Clottey
E) Juan Manuel Marquez v. Juan Diaz

Winner? Paul Williams v. Sergio Martinez.

They were all great fights. Berto and Collazo engaged in a slug-fest that some felt Collazo had won. Still, Berto's furious rallies in the 11th and 12th round were admirable enough that giving him the decision did not seem totally unjust.

Pacquaio's 12th round TKO of Cotto gave fans a chance to witness skill-level of the highest order. The first 6 rounds were competetive and featured numerous highlights for Cotto, despite being knocked down twice. However, the last half of the fight largely featured Cotto running around the ring in survival mode, which didn't exactly make for great theater.

Cotto's victory over Clottey was an impressive display of resilience on the part of both fighters over 12 extremely close rounds. However, Clottey's inability to throw enough punches to decisively win the fight over a badly-cut Cotto was more to blame for his lost decision than anything Cotto did.

Marquez's knockout over Juan Diaz was a strong candidate for fight of the year and the bout established him as the top 135-pound fighter in the world in only his 2nd fight at that weight class. Marquez was at his counterpunching best on that fight, trading with the naturally bigger Diaz in a non-stop action fight.

Even at 135, Marquez appeared slower than usual and was caught by several powerful left hooks from the Baby Bull. Yet "Dinamita" reminded everyone what a special fighter he is by surviving the initial onslaught before sytematically dismantling the young champion. The only knock on that fight might be that Marquez largely dominated the last few rounds.

However, Sergio Martinez and Paul Williams get the nod because their fight had so many of the qualities that boxing fans love: (1) high skill-level; (2) non-stop action; (3) willingness to risk; (4) powerful exchanges; (5) momentum changes that make you wonder who really will win the fight; and (6) competitive greatness.

The 1st Round saw the fighters exchange knockdowns, with Williams suffering the more serious damage. Martinez capitalized on his impressive hand speed and craftiness to befuddle Williams, who was an easy target for the right hook of the Argentinian southpaw.

However, by Round 4, Williams adusted and appeared able to block the right hook effectively while asserting constant offensive pressure. He staggered Martinez in Rounds 4 and 5, and appeared to take control of the fight. In Round 8, Martinez began landing effective left-hand leads to the body and effectively followed up with right hooks when Williams dropped his hands to protect his mid-section.

When Williams adjusted to that tactic and began landing solid left-hands of his own, Matinez started effectively throwing left-hand leads to the head, catching Williams on his way in. Williams effectively pressured Martinez in Rounds 11 and 12 and was given a close decision. The verdict was debatable, but the fight was inarguably a classic.


FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
Nominees:

A) Manny Pacquiao
B) Shane Mosley
C) Timothy Bradley
D) Vitali Klitschko
E) Wladmir Klitschko

Winner? Pacquiao.

Mosley's victory over Margarito has already been discussed; Timothy Bradley is quietly becoming a dominant fighter in the Light Welterweight Division; and the Klitschko brothers deserve far more respect in the United States than they get. However, nobody accomplished what Manny Pacquiao did in 2009.

Pacquiao's impressive knockout victories over Ricky Hatton at 140 lbs and Miguel Cotto at 147 lbs help solidify him as an all-time great fighter. Pacquiao has now won titles at 7 different weight classes and has not appeared to lose any speed or power while climbing the ranks from Flyweight champion (112 lbs) to Welterweight champion (147 lbs).

Further, PacMan has all the intangible qualities of a great champion, including the abiility to take heavy punches and change his method of attack spontaneously during a fight. His victory over Cotto was particularly impressive, as Cotto was simply overwhelmed by Pacquiao's unique ability to throw power punches from all angles - even when Pacquiao appears off balance. This unique fighter deserves all of the credit he has received and while a fight with Mayweather would be great, he certainly doesn't need it to prove anything.

FIGHTER WHO MUST RETIRE AFTER 2009
Nominees:

A) Antonio Margarito
B) Jermain Taylor
C) Roy Jones Jr.
D) Ricky Hatton

Winner? All of them. Margartio is a cheater, Taylor's health is an issue, Jones Jr. is a shadow of his former self, and Hatton is wealthy enough that he doesn't need to take anymore beatings.


Manish Pandya
Staff Editor for TheDailySportsHerald.Com